“Don’t tell them I’m a Tory” pleads Croydon Tory MP

The Tory MP for Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, has been caught out trying to distance himself from the Conservative Party.  He made the headlines in London’s Evening Standard after telling his dwindling band of supporters to recommend him to their neighbours but added “it’ll be much more effective if it doesn’t mention the Conservative Party or David Cameron.”

Mr Barwell doesn’t want voters to link him with the unpopular Tory policies he voted for in Parliament.  He also seems keen to avoid any association with Croydon’s recently-defeated Tory council after they hiked up council tax and left local streets filthy with litter and dumped rubbish after eight years in control.  Barwell masterminded the Croydon Tories’ failed election campaign last year and was a key member of Michael Gove’s team at the Department for Education which left Croydon with the biggest shortage of school places in the country.

The Tory MP has also raised eyebrows after removing the word ‘Conservative’ from his Twitter profile and distributing a leaflet which made no prominent mention of the fact that he’s a Tory but instead tried to associate himself with a Labour campaign.